Above: During the epidemic’s initial phase, skyjackers were interested solely in obtaining passage to Cuba, which they mistakenly imagined to be a joyous, post-racial paradise. But Fidel Castro had little patience for these American interlopers, most of whom he imprisoned for months or years. Photo: AP

To stop these unscheduled diversions to Cuba, the FAA created a special anti-hijacking task force in 1969. The group was inundated with thousands of letters from concerned citizens, who recommended inventive ways to frustrate skyjackers: installing trapdoors outside cockpits, arming stewardesses with tranquilizer darts, playing the Cuban national anthem before takeoff and then arresting anyone who knew the lyrics.

Above: The Philips Norelco Saferay, the first X-ray machine to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. Even at the height of the epidemic, the airlines resisted calls to physically screen all passengers. By 1972, designers realized that only a conveyorized system would handle the necessary inspection volume.

In the epidemic’s second phase, skyjackers realized that they weren’t limited to Cuba as a destination—the airlines were perfectly willing to take them wherever they wished to go, as long as they didn’t harm the passengers or damage the planes. An Italian-American Marine went to Rome to escape a court-martial; a Navy deserter and his Guatemalan girlfriend fled to Buenos Aires; a 14-year-old from Cincinnati tried to take a ballerina to Sweden at knifepoint.

Above: Raffaele Minichiello, hijacker of a TWA jetliner, sits between two plainclothes policemen in a car, November 1, 1969, after he was captured in Rome. Minichiello, an AWOL U.S. Marine, forced the jetliner to fly to New York, then to Bangor, Maine; Shannon, Ireland, and finally, Rome before his capture. Photo: AP

The epidemic began to spiral out of control in 1972, when the hijackers became primarily interested in swapping passengers for money. To evade the law after obtaining their ransoms, some of the skyjackers demanded passage to North Africa; others parachuted from the rear doors of Boeing 727s.

Manufacturers of pop culture took note of the American public's fascination with skyjacking. Commandeered airplanes figured in the plots of pulp novels, TV shows, and even a cheesy Charlton Heston flick titled Skyjacked. The hijackers in these entertainments were often portrayed as frazzled Vietnam vets who had turned against the war--a stereotype that contained at least a grain of truth.

Above: Charlton Heston in Skyjacked.

Starting in late 1971, a sizeable number of skyjackers began to jump out of planes with their ransom. Many airlines began to seal the rear exits on Boeing 727s, a popular model of aircraft that featured a collapsible
staircase near the tail. But critics of this approach warned that if skyjackers were unable to lower those stairs, they might take out their frustrations on innocent passengers.

As the hijackings grew more brazen and bizarre, the FBI began to employ lethal violence to bring the problem under control. Snipers were positioned around tarmacs in order to kill careless skyjackers; agents disguised as relief pilots came aboard aircraft with pistols tucked into their waistbands.

Above: Life’s 1972 cover story on the skyjacking epidemic. Forty Americans attempted to hijack planes that year; most wound up either dead or in jail.

The most spectacular hijacking of the epidemic took place on June 2, 1972, when Willie Roger Holder and Catherine Marie Kerkow seized Western Airlines Flight 701 as it neared Seattle. As recounted in The Skies Belong to Us, the young couple wanted to liberate black radical Angela Davis and take her to North Vietnam. Their scheme did not go according to plan.

Above: Holder handed two notes to the stewardess as they prepared to take over the plane. The notes were released to the public by the FBI.

All of these hijackings were possible because airport security was so lax. Less than 1 percent of passengers were screened with metal detectors, and ticket agents were solely responsible for deciding who would be searched. On top of that, anyone could walk from curbside to gate without possessing a valid ticket.

The airlines and the federal government eventually realized they had no choice but to turn every airport into a miniature police state. The physical screening of all passengers began on January 5, 1973. To the surprise of many, travelers didn’t seem to mind the intrusion. “Somebody’s got to put a stop to this hijacking,” one Alabaman told the Associated Press as a guard picked though his carry-on bag at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. “If this will do it, glory be!”

Above: Security check in at Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina in 1973. Photo: Hunter-Desportes/Flickr